Staraya Ladoga
Dendrochronology suggests that Ladoga was founded in 753. Until 950, it stood as one of the most important trading ports of Eastern Europe. Merchant vessels sailed from the Baltic Sea through Ladoga to Novgorod and then to Constantinople or the Caspian Sea. This route is known as the trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks. An alternative way led down the Volga River along the Volga trade route to the Khazar capital of Atil. The journey continued all the way to Baghdad via the southern shores of the Caspian Sea. Tellingly, the oldest Arabian medieval coin in Europe was unearthed in Ladoga. The settlement takes its name from a tributary of the Volkhov River. That river itself comes from the Finnish name Alodejoki meaning low-lying river. It was known to the Varangians as Aldegjuborg.
According to the Hypatian Codex created at the end of the 13th century, the legendary Varangian leader Rurik arrived at Ladoga in 862. He made it his capital before moving to Novgorod. His successors later moved from there to Kiev where foundations for the powerful state of Kievan Rus were laid. There are several huge tumuli or royal funerary barrows at the outskirts of Ladoga. One of them is said to be Rurik's grave and another one that of his successor Oleg. The Heimskringla and other Norse sources mention that in the late 990s Eric Haakonsson of Norway raided the coast and set the town ablaze. Ladoga was the most important trading center in Eastern Europe from about 800 to 900 CE. It is estimated that between 90% and 95% of all Arab dirhams found in Sweden passed through Ladoga. At least two Swedish kings spent their youth in Ladoga including Stenkil and Inge I.
The fortress of Ladoga was built in the 12th century and rebuilt 400 years later. It is now mostly reconstructed since being heavily damaged during World War II. The heart of Staraya Ladoga is an old fortress where the Ladozhka flows into the Volkhov. In earlier times it was a strategic site because it was the only possible harbor for sea-vessels that could not navigate through the Volkhov River. The fortress was rebuilt at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries. After new fortresses such as Oreshek and Korela were constructed in the 14th century further to the west of Ladoga, the town's military significance also decreased. Ladoga belonged to Vodskaya Pyatina of the Republic and contained eighty-four homesteads in the 15th century. Most of the land belonged to the church. The Novgorodians built there a citadel with five towers and several churches. In 1703 Peter the Great founded the town of Novaya Ladoga closer to the bank of Lake Ladoga. The ancient fortress thenceforth declined and came to be known as Staraya Ladoga.
Staraya Ladoga's barrows architectural monuments and romantic views of the Volkhov River have always been drawing attention of Russian painters. There were artists Ivan Aivazovsky Orest Kiprensky Aleksander Orłowski Ivan Ivanov Alexey Venetsianov and many others in the 19th century. Nicholas Roerich painted his studies there during the summer of 1899. He named this landscape the best of the Russian one. Valentin Serov Konstantin Korovin Boris Kustodiev also worked there. Alexander Samokhvalov was in Staraya Ladoga many times in 1924-1926. He took part in the restoration of the St. George's Church. That experience gave a great deal to the artist he wrote. It helped him to understand the effect of joining a monumental painting with the architectural forms. In February 1945 the ex-estate of the prince Shakhovskoy was given to Leningrad artists as a base zone for rest and creative work. The House of Creativity Staraya Ladoga began to operate permanently in the beginning of the 1960s after the finish of the restoration.
Viking burial mounds line the Volkhov River near Staraya Ladoga from the 8th to the 10th centuries. These huge tumuli or royal funerary barrows sit at the outskirts of the settlement. One is said to be Rurik's grave while another belongs to his successor Oleg. Archaeological evidence suggests that Ladoga gradually evolved into a primarily Varangian settlement. At least two Swedish kings spent their youth in Ladoga including Stenkil and Inge I. The mid-12th-century churches of St. George and of Mary's Assumption stand in all their original glory. Inside St. George's some magnificent 12th-century frescoes are still visible. There is also the Assumption Nunnery Monastery and a monastery dedicated to St. Nicholas which was constructed mainly in the 17th century. The oldest Arabian medieval coin in Europe was unearthed in Ladoga confirming its role as a major trade hub.
Common questions
When was Staraya Ladoga founded according to dendrochronology?
Dendrochronology suggests that Staraya Ladoga was founded in 753. Until 950, it stood as one of the most important trading ports of Eastern Europe.
Who arrived at Staraya Ladoga in 862 and made it his capital?
The legendary Varangian leader Rurik arrived at Staraya Ladoga in 862. He made it his capital before moving to Novgorod.
Where is the fortress of Staraya Ladoga located on the Volkhov River?
The heart of Staraya Ladoga is an old fortress where the Ladozhka flows into the Volkhov. In earlier times it was a strategic site because it was the only possible harbor for sea-vessels that could not navigate through the Volkhov River.
Which artists worked in Staraya Ladoga during the 19th century?
Artists Ivan Aivazovsky, Orest Kiprensky, Aleksander Orłowski, Ivan Ivanov, Alexey Venetsianov, Nicholas Roerich, Valentin Serov, Konstantin Korovin, and Boris Kustodiev worked there. Nicholas Roerich painted his studies there during the summer of 1899.
When did Peter the Great found the town of Novaya Ladoga near Staraya Ladoga?
In 1703 Peter the Great founded the town of Novaya Ladoga closer to the bank of Lake Ladoga. The ancient fortress thenceforth declined and came to be known as Staraya Ladoga.
All sources
15 references cited across the entry
- 1bookThe Origin of Rus': Old Scandinavian Sources Other than the SagasOmeljan Pritsak — Harvard University Press — 1981
- 2bookThe Relations between Ancient Russia and Scandinavia, and the Origin of the Russian StateVilhelm Thomsen — Paul Bondarovski — 1877
- 3bookVikingsNeil Oliver — Orion — 4 October 2012
- 4bookViking Rus: Studies on the Presence of Scandinavians in Eastern EuropeWladyslaw Duczko — Brill — 2004
- 5citationA Comparative Study of Thirty City-state Cultures: An InvestigationNeil Price — Kgl. Danske Videnskabernes Selskab — 2000
- 6bookConcise Oxford Dictionary of World Place NamesJohn Everett-Heath — Oxford University Press — 22 October 2020
- 7bookSeafarers, Merchants and Pirates in the Middle AgesDirk Meier — Boydell Press — 2006
- 8journalДендрохронология древнейших горизонтов Старой Ладоги (по материалам раскопки Земляного городище) (Dendrochronology of the Oldest Layers of Staraya Ladoga (from the Excavation Materials))N.B. Chernykh — 1985
- 9journalLadoga in the early middle ages (mid-VIII -early XII centuries)Sergey L. Kuzmin — 2008
- 10bookНовгород и новгородская земля в XV векеViktor Nikolayevich Bernadsky — USSR Academy of Sciences — 1961
- 11bookThe clash of cultures on the medieval Baltic frontierAlan V. Murray — 2016
- 12newskarpovka.netAugust 22, 2009